How to Color Coffee Filters + 3 Kid Crafts to Try!

I learned how to color coffee filters as a kid, and it’s always been a go-to, easy way to make crafts! Learn how to make them with markers + three projects to turn them into.

Three piles of white coffee filters sit next to an assortment of colorful Crayola markers.

Learn how to color coffee filters and three ways to use them

I think I made colored coffee filters every year I have been in the classroom (plus when I was a kid!).

Once you make them and see how easy and fun they are, it can be like potato chips: hard to stop at one.

I love a project using materials that many people already have on hand, and I’m thrilled to show you how to use markers to make beautiful pieces of art from coffee filters.

Related: Markers are also perfect for our GIANT coloring page posters! With 20+ themes to choose from, there’s something for everyone.

A stack of three coffee filters are on top of one another and soaked with water. Markers were colored on top and are blending in colors orange, pinks, purple, and blue.

Your kids will love exploring how to color coffee filters

Not only is the process fun, but I also have a trick up my sleeve to give you a 3-for-1 bang for your buck!

And don’t worry if your child wants to make 100 of them. (It could happen-seriously.)

These little beauties can be used a bazillion ways, and your kid might even think of a new way to use them, too.

Looking for more coffee filter projects for kids? Your littles will love these:

Cupcake Liner Flower Art
Play Dough Spring Flowers
Orizomegami Dip-and-Dye Art (can also be made with coffee filters!)
Planet Suncatchers

A dry coffee filter is has patches of dark blue, teal, lime. and magenta colors. Behind sits another coffee filter that is wet and has warm colors of reds, oranges, and yellows. Next to them sits a small pile of Crayola markers.

Materials

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Here’s what you need to make colored coffee filters. I’ll list the specific additional materials necessary for each of the three crafts in their sections!

A close up of three coffee filters stacked on top of each other for how to make colored coffee filters. The top coffee filter has patches of colors (purples, pinks, oranges, and blues) and the bottom two are white. In the background are Crayola markers.

Directions

Here we’re going to learn how to make colored coffee filters. Once you know how to make these, you can make any of the three projects shared after.

First, use washable markers (Crayola are perfect) to color large patches of color on a coffee filter. You don’t have to color all of the white space, but color most of it.

Next, THE VERY BEST TRICK, stack the coffee filter on top of two other coffee filters (so you have three stacked in total). Once stacked, spray with water until the water and color are soaked through all three layers.

Last, let dry completely.

Once they’re dry, kids will be amazed to see how they have THREE coffee filters that look the same. It’s mesmerizing!

Okay, now what to do with these beautiful, dry coffee filters?

Kristian shows how to color coffee filters and has a dried coffee filter twisted into a butterfly with a green pipe cleaner. She smiles at the camera, wearing a blue shirt and a colorful headband.

Project 1: Butterfly craft

This one is a classic. It’s almost a rite of passage.

If you make colored coffee filters, you’ve GOT to make at least one butterfly. It’s only right. 😂

Additional materials:

Pipe cleaners

HOW TO MAKE: Scrunch the center of the coffee filter together, squishing the very top center of the coffee filter to the bottom center. Once it’s pinched together in the middle, wrap a pipe cleaner around it and stick up the ends of the pipe cleaner to look like butterfly antennae.

Sometimes people add magnets to the backs of these and hang them on their fridges, too.

A bouquet of colored coffee filters sit together in a small glass jar on a small side table next to a red couch in the distance. The flowers are an assortment of colors.

Project #2: Bouquet of flowers craft

These are extra popular in the Spring, and as Mother’s Day gifts.

Additional materials:

Pipe cleaners
Bamboo skewers – they’re sharp on one end, so consider snipping off the poky part before providing them to kids

HOW TO MAKE: Grab the very center of the pipe cleaner, pinch it, and then fold the rest of the coffee filter up. The top will look like the flower’s petals, and the bottom will look like the pinched, narrow base of the flower.

Touch the pinched flower base to a bamboo skewer, securing them together by wrapping them tightly with a pipe cleaner.

Repeat this same process until you have as many flowers as you love!

A small, colorful bowl has diluted glue and a red-handled paintbrush. On the table are several pieces of cut up coffee filters. All of the materials sit on a purple table.

Project #3: Decoupage jar

I made one of these projects for my mom when I was in preschool, and she still has it! It proudly sits on her desk and holds her pens and pencils. *all the warm fuzzies*

Additional materials:

Scissors
Glass jar – I linked ones with smooth sides, which work even better than mine
School glue – pour in a small bowl and add a small amount of water to slightly dilute
Paintbrush – ideally, a large, fluffy one

HOW TO MAKE: Begin by cutting up your coffee filters into smaller pieces. Next, use your diluted glue to paint the side of your jar. Add on coffee filter shapes. Once covered, paint over the tissue paper shapes so they’re all wet. Let dry.

Note: If using a school glue for this project, it will dry matte (which is totally fine!). If you prefer it to look shiny, you could swap glue for glossy mod podge (look how inexpensive it is).